Neal: You know the Twins’ MVP. You can’t guess who stands second on my list.

The Twins’ MVP to this point has undoubtedly been Byron Buxton. He’ll likely be the team MVP at the end of the season and should receive a few down-ballot votes for American League MVP as well.

But who has been the second-most valuable Twins position player?

My pick is someone who I didn’t think was going to last long here based on his track record. But he has proved me wrong.

And that is Kody Clemens, who was purchased from Philadelphia in late April.

Clemens has been a surprise at the plate while getting playing time at second base, first base and right field. He was batting only .222 with the Twins entering Saturday, but he had belted 12 home runs and added five doubles for a .521 slugging percentage. He had appeared in 55 games, posting a 1.1 WAR that is third best among Twins position players.

Over his three previous seasons, Clemens batted .200 with 14 home runs, 48 RBI and 102 strikeouts over 146 games. His bat speed has increased a little from a year ago. But he said he’s done nothing out of the ordinary to improve it. His offseason routine was unchanged. He took a few weeks off before beginning a weight training program. In December, he began baseball activities. In January, Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long flew out to Arizona to work with him. Standard stuff.

“I don’t know if that’s just me getting older and stronger or what it is,” said Clemens, 29. “… If my hands have moved a little differently to cause some more rubber-band-type action, I don’t know. So, yeah, no, I haven’t tried to increase my bat speed.”

His average bat speed is 72.4 mph, up from 70.5 a year ago, But it’s only sixth best on the Twins. The top five: Matt Wallner, Buxton, Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis and Harrison Bader.

So Clemens is making better contact than almost everyone above him. And his opposite-field power has been impressive.

He’s earned his at-bats and believes he’s closer to becoming the player he envisioned himself to be.

“I think the more that I go out there and these guys trust me and put me in the lineup, that I’ll continue to get better and better,” Clemens said. “I mean, I think [it’s] getting at-bats in the big leagues. All I’ve said is, there’s no reason for me to get at-bats in the minor leagues anymore. I’ve done it my whole life. The only way I’m going to get better is if I get at-bats in the big leagues and learn how to do it.”

Lynx forward Jessica Shepard entered Wednesday’s game against Phoenix with 5 minutes, 14 seconds left in the first quarter. The first time she touched the ball, she scored down low. A couple of minutes later, she grabbed a rebound. On the other end of the floor, she assisted on Maria Kliundikova’s layup. She helped bring the ball up the court a couple of times.

Shepard finished with eight points, a team-high eight rebounds and two assists in the Lynx’s 79-66 victory. She played just 17 minutes, 29 seconds in a bench role but, as she has done many times this season, impacted the game.

“When Jess is having the mindset of being a playmaker, Jess is so good,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. “It’s like having another point guard out there. She’s so good at making other players better.”

A lot has to go right for a team to be 20-4 at the All-Star break. Shepard’s return following a year in Greece is one of those positive developments.

Thad Levine was expected to have landed with another team, or to have joined Major League Baseball, or to have joined the MLB Players Association, or to have taken over a corporation by now.

But if you want to see what Levine is up to at the moment, head for the internet.

Levine, former Twins general manager, has hooked up with Ryan McDonough, former Phoenix Suns general manager, to produce a weekly podcast called “Rosters to Rings.” The mission here is a simple one: to take listeners behind the scenes to reveal what goes on inside front offices and their approaches to roster construction, people management and establishing a winning culture.

They have had a number of guests, including former NBA player Greg Anthony and Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch.

Episode 10 might be of interest to Twins fans. Torii Hunter joined the show.